The challenge
Thirty-two national football teams, officials, VIPs and 1.8 million fans were expected to attend the first FIFA World Cup to be held in the Middle East in November and December 2022.
With 86% of people forecasted to arrive into Qatar by plane, Hamad International Airport (HIA) wished to gauge the volume of passengers anticipated to pass through their airport during the course of the event.
As part of the Event Readiness Planning team, HIA retained a world-class team of consultancies, with o&i consulting analysing the airfield and terminal capacity.
Our role
o&i consulting’s Operational Research team supported the Event Readiness Planning team with analytical and capacity planning expertise to provide Hamad International Airport with an understanding of the capacity requirements to handle the forecast volumes at a given level of service.
The capacity analysis including the following key areas:
Airfield: the number of stands required to park the forecast traffic at the airport
Terminal capacity: the arrival and departure facilities requirements to meet the forecast passenger movements
We worked with the airport operator to determine a set of operating scenarios for the World Cup period and developed schedules for the peak arrival and departure days. These were modelled to generate an understanding of the impact of highest demand days on the airport and to identify where capacity shortfalls for airfield and terminal facilities existed. Utilising the model, we were able to guide the client on which operating scenarios would deliver an amazing experience for all FIFA traffic attending the World Cup.
The outcome
The airport operator was fully equipped with an understanding of the capacity challenges that needed to be addressed in advance of the event and a clear roadmap of milestones (decisions and infrastructure) to deliver a successful World Cup experience to passengers arriving in Doha.
